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Lydia Di Francesco workplace wellness

With layoffs pending in the federal civil service, here’s what leaders and HR teams can do

Human Resources, Insider Only Top Stories

Downtown Ottawa continues to ‘struggle’ with retail vacancies as civil service layoffs loom

Ottawa, Insider Only Top Stories

Algonquin College. File photo.

Business leaders in hospitality, live music concerned by proposed cuts at Algonquin College

Ottawa, Insider Only Top Stories

Construction is underway at a former downtown office building, which is being converted into a residential apartment building. (Photo by Mia Jensen)

Ottawa ranks high in Canada for office-to-residential conversions, realtor says

Insider Only Non-Residential, Real Estate, Top Stories

Here are the words and phrases you should banish from your workplace communications

Human Resources, Insider Only Top Stories

Catherine Callary is vice president of destination development at Ottawa Tourism. Photo credit: Ottawa Tourism

Ottawa Tourism increasingly looking to private investors to support projects in the city

Insider Only Ottawa, Top Stories, Tourism

Graham Richardson is managing director of media and communications at Edelman Global Advisory. File photo

We ask former TV anchor Graham Richardson about his new perspective on world events

Insider Only Ottawa, Top Stories

Ottawa Tourism's Michael Crockatt (left), president and CEO, and Catherine Callary, vice-president of destination development. Photo by Mia Jensen

Five big things that could impact tourism in Ottawa

Insider Only Ottawa, Top Stories, Tourism

Rendering of the Alto high-speed train. Source: Alto.

How would high-speed rail affect Ottawa’s labour market? We check in with local experts

Insider Only Ottawa, Top Stories

Kevin Reed, co-founder and chief operating officer of the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank, speaks to Sueling Ching, president and CEO of the Ottawa Board of Trade, at the Ottawa Economic Outlook event on Jan. 21, 2026. Photo by Mark Holleron.

Defence execs tout Ottawa as the place to be as city pursues bid for DSRB headquarters

Insider Only Defence and Security, Ottawa, Top Stories

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Video

Ottawa’s AI scene is evolving. Early momentum was created by companies such as Solink, founded by Mike Matta, which applied computer vision to retail analytics, and Ranovus, led by Hany Mussad, which develops the optical hardware necessary for high-capacity AI data centres. Subsequent growth was driven by firms such as MindBridge, co-founded by Solon Angel and Eli Fathi, and BluWave-ai, led by Devashish Paul, which targeted specific industrial applications in financial auditing and energy grid management.

A new AI player is garnering international attention. Backboard.io is developing a memory-native API designed to manage long-term context in large language models. In January 2026, the company closed a pre-seed funding round led by Mistral Venture Partners, with participation from N49P, Garage Capital, and Developer Capital.

In this episode of Techopia Live, OBJ publisher Michael Curran speaks to Rob Imbeault, the founder and CEO of Backboard.io. Having already co-founded tech unicorn Assent, Imbeault is now in the CEO seat and predicting big things to come.

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
02:56 Introducing Rob Imbeault
14:00 Sponsor Segment
22:27 Building a Better Working World
24:03 Techopia Sponsors
24:43 Closing and What’s Ahead at OBJ

For more on Ottawa’s tech and innovation scene, visit https://obj.ca/techopia.

Subscribe to Techopia’s weekly newsletter here: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/5

Techopia Live: Imbeault is back with Backboard.io | Eposide 295

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Borden Ladner Gervais LLP and partners lead with generosity

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EXPERT BLOGS

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Sueling Ching, Ottawa Board of Trade

2026 Marks a new chapter for Ottawa

Sueling Ching

Moe Tabesh writes about communicating with the CRA

Don’t let tax season steal your thunder: A smarter way for Ottawa businesses to close the books

Moe Tabesh

In the age of AI, trust and authenticity matter more than ever

Ben Hemmings

EVENTS

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